Pleasure-railway.



PATENTED MAY 26, 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1= E G GEORES PLEASURE RAILWAY. APPLICATION rum) ma. 12190 ATTO/VEYS PATENTED MAY 26, 1908.

2 snnms snnr B. G. GEORBS. PLEASURE RAILWAY. AP PLIOATION rum) MAR. 12,1908.

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ERIK G. GEORES, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PLEASURE-RAILWAY.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERIK G. GEoREs, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and Stateof New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPleasure-R ailways, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates more particularly to pleasure railways in whichthe car travels in a circuitous path by gravity to its starting point. 1

The primary object of the invention is to provide an effective railwayand car or carriage therefor which travels in such a way as to make thetrip interesting and exciting, but at the same time perfectly safe, sothat the car during the travel thereof will not only move in thedirection of the track, but will have a part thereof rotated first inone direction then in another so as to shift or force the passengersfirst one way and then another as the car advances thereby materiallyincreasing the pleasure and excitement incident to the ride andaifording much amusement as the car moves along the track.

A further object of the invention is to provide a track which may be ofconsiderable length and arranged in a compact space, and

which is so constructed that the car will move in a spiral path in itstravel; and to provide a car which is simple in construction and whichis free to move laterally as it travels forward along the track.

With these and other objects in view, the invention will be hereinaftermore particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings,which form a part of this specification, and will then be pointed out inthe claims at the end of the description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of apparatusembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the track with thesupporting means removed. Fig. 3

4 is a plan view of one form of car or carriage for the assengers; andFig. 4 is a vertical sectiona view, partly in elevation, of the car.

The main frame or structure 10 of the apparatus may be made of anysuitable form and constructed in any desired manner. As shown a numberof uprights or standards 11 are supported on the ground, and these aresuitably braced by the beams or tie-bars 12 as is usual'in structures ofthis character, and these standards may be of any desired num-Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 12, 1908.

Patented May 26, 1908.

Serial No. 420,645.

ber according to the size and nature of the apparatus and the strengthrequired to adapt it for the purpose intended. A platform 13 is arrangedconvenient to the apparatus, and this platform may be provided withentrance and exit steps 14 and 15 at the ends thereof, and leading fromsaid platform is an inclined part 16 which extends from the platform 13to the starting point of travel or upper platform 17 along which one ormore cars 18 are adapted to travel. Any suitable means may be providedfor raising the cars from the platform 13 to the platform or startingpoint 17, and for this purpose an endless carrier 19 is provided whichis adapted to automatically engage each car 18 when placed in its pathof movement, and which will automatically release the car when itreaches the platform 17 so that said car may be entirely free to movealong a track 20 as is usual in pleasure railways.

The entire track or way 20, including the inclined part 16, has a solidfloor or platform 21 for the cars instead of the usual rails, and thistrack is formed spirally so as to provide a curved portion 22 which hasa number of substantially concentric convolutions which terminate at thecenter of the apparatus. The track is substantially circular andinclines downwardly so that each convolution is beneath the next outerone, and said track terminates at or near the center thereof in aninclined trackway 24 which extends to the latform 13 so that the cars asthey are forced from the platform 13 to the latform 17 will pass aroundthe circular trac z; toward the center of the apparatus, and then backagain to the starting point or platform 13.

The track-20 has projecting from its floor or base 21 a guard rail 25 oneach side thereof, and above the guard rails 25 are guard rails 26 whichare arranged parallel to the guard rails 25 and are adapted to serve 'asguides for the car 18 as will be presently described.

Any suitable form of car may be employed in connection with certainfeatures of the apparatus, but I prefer to employ a car such as shown inFigs. 2 and 4. As shown the car 18 has a truck provided with a platformor base 27 to the lower surface of which are held a series of Wheels 28which are mounted in brackets 29 in substantially the same manner as theordinary caster, so as to shift their positions according to themovement of the car, and to the edge of the base 27 are arranged aplurality of pulleys or rolls which are j ournaled in brackets 31 heldto the ends of said platform, and are adapted to engage the guide orguard rails 25 so as to retain the car on the floor 21 of the track. Thebase 27 of the truck is substantially oval or elliptical in shape, androtatably held relatively to the base is a car body 32. This car body 32is circular and is provided with a plurality of radially arranged seats33 for the passengers, and thebase or floor 34 of said body is providedwith a bushing or member 35, which is supported above a flange 36arranged on the base 27. A post or shaft 37 is held to the base 27, andthis bolt or post is provided with a cap 28 which is adapted to restupon the balls 39, so as to provide a suitable bearing between the cap38 and the bushing 35. A ring 40 is secured to the base 27, and thisring is opposed to a ring all, secured to the floor of the car 32, andin each of the rings 40 and 41 is an annular groove in whichantifriction balls 42 may be arranged so that a suitable ball-bearingconnection is provided between the car body and the supporting base 27.By this means the car 38 may have an independent rotary movementrelatively to the base or platform 27, and said base 27 by means of itsrollers or wheels 28 is free to move forward and laterally on the floorof the track 20.

To make the forward movement of the car more interesting and amusing, Iprovide a plurality of buffers 43 on the guard rails 26, and thesebuffers are arranged to alternate first on one side and then on theother, and are adapted to engage a rubber or other frictional engagingsurface 44 carried by the car body. The frictional surface may be in thenature of a rubber band or ring suitably held in a metallic or otherring 45 carried by the car body. As will be seen when the car body movesforward the rolls 28 permit the car to move from one side to the otherand during this movement the frictional surface 4e will engage one ofthe abutments or buffers 43, and will rotate the car in one direction,and on further movement of the car it will strike another bufi er, whichmay be on the opposite guard rail, and this will rotate the car body inan opposite direction, thus causing the car in its forward movement torotate relatively to its base or platform first in one direction andthen in another and so on throughout a part or the entire length of thetrack.

It will be understood that instead of the floor 21 of the track 20 beingsimply circular and curved it maybe of any desired form and of anysuitable length, and may also be made with undulations, so that the carin its forward travel may not only descend, but at suitable points maybe made to rise and fall again as in the usual form of railways of thischaracter.

From the foregoing it will be seen that simple and eflicient means isprovided whereby a very exciting and amusing ride is afforded topassengers; that a simple and effective car is provided which has itsbody rotatably held to its truck in such a way that during the forwardmovement of the truck it will be automatically rotated in one directionand then in another as it moves along the track, and that a compact andeffective track or way having a plurality of convolutions is providedfor the cars.

Having. thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. The combination with a track, of guard rails forming a part of thetrack on opposite sides thereof and provided with buffers along thesame, a passenger car having a truck portion adapted to move freely,laterally and lengthwise of the track, and a body adapted to holdpassengers rotatably held to the truck portion and adapted to engage thebuffers and to rotate the car body in opposite directions as it movesforward.

2. In a pleasure railway, a car comprising a truck having a base and aplurality of rollers carried thereby, a post projecting upward from thebase, a car body rotatably held on the post, a ball bearing connectionbetween the post and the car, annular opposed rings supported by the carbody and the truck and forming a ball bearing connection therebetween,said car having a plurality of radially arranged seats for passengerstherein, and an annular frictional surface carried by the car body, andadapted to engage a part of the track to rotate said body as the carmoves along the same.

3. The combination with a track of guard rails forming a part of thetrack and opposite sides thereof and provided with buffers along thesame, said track having an inclined part extending upward and a spiralportion comprising a plurality of convolutions which extend downward andtoward the center thereof in a circular path, a passenger car having atruck portion adapted to move freely, laterally and lengthwisepf thetrack and a body adapted to hold passengers rotatably held to the truckportion and adapted to engage the buffers and to rotate the car body inopposite directions as it moves forward.

This specification signed and witnessed this eleventh day of March A. D.1908.

ERIK e. GEORES.

